Digestive Issues

Are you fed up with suffering from digestive issues that cause you to feel unwell?

Do you suffer from symptoms such bloating, constipation, diarrhoea, flatulence, reflux, indigestion, heartburn, abdominal cramping, which can lead to tiredness, mood swings and nutritional deficiencies?

Linda at Melbourne Naturopathy can use a wide variety of herbal medicines, supplements, vitamins, minerals, dietary and lifestyle changes to treat a whole range of digestive disorders to improve your overall wellbeing and assist in eliminating those issues which have been bothering you for years.

Natural Treatment For Irritable Bowel Disease (IBS)

Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a common and debilitating condition which significantly affects the patient’s quality of life. IBS presents with a cluster of gut symptoms, with the cardinal symptom being abdominal pain with either constipation and/or diarrhoea.

IBS is divided into subcategories based on the predominate symptom:

IBS-C (constipated)

IBS-D (diarrhoea)

IBS-M (Mixed IBS) Loose or watery stools

Signs And Symptoms

Abnormal stool frequency (“abnormal” may be defined as greater than 3 bowel movements per day and less than 3 bowel movements per week)

Straining during a bowel movement
Urgency (having to rush to have a bowel movement)

Feeling of incomplete bowel movement

Abdominal pain and/or discomfort relived by defaecating

Changes in bowel habits

Diarrhoea or constipation, or both alternately

Need for bowel movement immediately on waking or after eating

How Can Melbourne Naturopathy Help?

Linda Cotone the Naturopath at Melbourne Naturopathy specialise in natural treatment for IBS. Linda can help treat the symptoms of IBS by discovering the underlying causes, through the use of various screening tools and taking a detailed case history. She will use a combination of herbal medicine, nutritional supplements, dietary and lifestyle changes that will help heal you digestive system and help restore balance.

Inflammatory Bowel Disease (Crohn’S Disease & Ulcerative Colitis)

Inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) are non-specific, chronic inflammatory diseases of the gastro intestinal tract. (GIT). Inflammation may affect any part of the GIT from the mouth to the anus. Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis are the most common inflammatory bowel disorders.

Crohn’s disease is chronic inflammation involving all layers of the intestinal wall and any part of the gastrointestinal tract. The disease often presents with a pattern of intermittent remittance and relapses. Nutritional deficiencies due to malabsorption are common and developmental retardation may result in those who develop this disorder during childhood.

Ulcerative colitis is a chronic, nonspecific inflammatory bowel disease involving the mucosa and submucosa of the colon. It usually includes the rectum and is characterised by uniform and continuous ulceration, bloody diarrhoea and rectal bleeding. Recurrent inflammation may eventually lead to shortening of the colon, and with long-standing UC, the surface epithelium may show dysplastic changes. Like Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis often presents with a pattern of intermittent remittance and relapses.

Commom Signs Of IBD Include:

Diarrhoea with or without gross or occult blood (occurs in the majority of patients)

Abdominal pain (often after eating and relieved with defaecation)

Abdominal distension, tenderness or pain, especially pain in the right lower quadrant

Fatigue, anaemia

Poor appetite, weight loss, malnutrition

Steatorrhoea (fatty stool)

Nausea and vomiting

Anal-rectal complications such as fistulae, fissures, or perirectal abscesses

Rectal bleeding

High fever

Tachycardia

Rectal tenesmus (sense of needing to evacuate, even when bowel is empty)

Constipation (this may occur instead of diarrhoea if rectal involvement is predominant)

Arthralgia – generalised joint pain

Factors That Can Contribute To The Incidence Of IBD Include The Following:

Food and/or chemical sensitivities or allergies

Intestinal infections, dysbiosis and/or Leaky Gut Syndrome

Family history of IBD

History of chronic viral and/or bacterial infection

Frequent dieting

High stress or poor stress tolerance

Highly refined sugar diet

Use of medications which reduce normal intestinal flora (e.g., antibiotics)

How Can Natural Medicine Help

At Melbourne Naturopathy, Linda Cotone, Naturopath can use natural medicine to help relieve the symptoms of IBD through dietary advice as well as the use of herbal medicine and nutritional supplements.

Gastro-oesophageal Reflux Disease (GORD) or acid reflux, is a chronic condition in which the content of the stomach regurgitates (backs up or refluxes) into the oesophagus causing inflammation and damage to the lining of the oesophagus.

Functional dyspepsia( FD ) and Gastroparesis ( GP )are the two most common sensorimotor disorders of the upper GI tract, with shared symptoms of upper abdominal pain, postprandial fullness, early satiety and nausea.

Classifying GORD, FD and GP is confusing as the symptoms and treatments are frequently the same.

Signs And Symptoms

Common symptoms of Functional Dyspepsia and Gastroparesis are:

Upper abdominal pain

Postprandial fullness and pressure

Early satiety

Nausea, vomiting

Weight loss

The most-common symptoms of GORD are:

Heartburn

Regurgitation Dysphagia (Trouble swallowing)

Less-common symptoms include:

Pain with swallowing

Excessive salivation (this is common during heartburn, as saliva is generally slightly basic and is the body’s natural response to heartburn, acting similarly to an antacid)

Hypercalcaemia, which can increase gastrin production, leading to hyperacidity.

Diabetes

Gastroparesis: (delayed gastric emptying of a solid food meal with no obstruction )

Make An Apppointment Today

At Melbourne Naturopathy, Linda Cotone, Naturopath can provide relief from the discomfort and pain of reflux and indigestion through dietary and lifestyle changes and the use of herbal medicines and nutritional supplements. She will also treat the underlying causes, to help restore balance. Don’t put up with symptoms any longer.

Natural Treatment For Constipation

Constipation is a condition in which a person has difficult or infrequent passage of faeces. Constipation may be a symptom of underlying pathology or an ongoing problem in itself, lasting days, months, or years. Constipation may occur at any age, and most people will experience constipation sometime in life, but it is more frequent in infancy and old age.

Signs and Symptoms:

Infrequent, difficult passage of stools (less than three times a week)

Sudden and significant decrease in frequency of bowel movements

Stools harder than normal, possibly impacted

Sensation of incomplete bowel emptying

Bloated sensation

What Are The Causes Of Constipation?

Decrease in exercise or activity, often occurring with illness and travel

Dietary changes

Use of many medications, such as diuretics and some antidepressants

Low fibre diet

Stress

Hypothyroidism

Anorectal fissures or thrombosed haemorrhoids

Strictures

Tumours

Pregnancy

How Can Natural Medicine Help?

Linda the Naturopath at Melbourne Naturopathy provides natural treatment for constipation through the use of a wide range of natural remedies, dietary and lifestyle changes. The treatment will provide symptomatic relief from constipation, as well as treating the underlying cause of the problem, to restore harmony and balance.

Natural Treatment For Candida Infection (Candidiasis )

Candidiasis is a general term for the over growth of yeast and fungal infections, most commonly caused by several species of Candida, the most predominant being Candida albicans. Candida is a common commensal (nonpathogenic) organism in the human microbiome that is found in the gut, genitals, skin, throat and mouth. Candida overgrowth occurs and problems arise when the ratio of friendly bacteria to harmful microorganism is disturbed, leading to many disease states and health issues varying from digestive issues to depression.

Causes Of Candida Overgrowth

Eating a diet high in refined carbohydrates and sugar

Consuming a lot of alcohol

Taking oral contraceptives

Stress

Antibiotics (they decrease the amount of good bacteria)

Weak immune system

Uncontrolled diabetes

Pregnancy

Hormonal imbalance near menstrual cycle

Lack of sleep

Symptoms Of Candida Overgrowth

There are many symptoms of Candida overgrowth, which can affect every organ of the body. Some of the symptoms include:

Chronic fatigue

Brain fog

Digestive issues, such as bloating, constipation, diarrhoea, nausea,

Vagina infections,

Urinary tract infection

Vaginal & rectal itch

Oral thrush

Sinus infections

Food allergies/intolerances

Fungal infections on the skin and nails

A weak immune system

Joint pain

Low mood/ depression

Irritability, anxiety, mood swings

Headache

Fatigue

Dizziness

Strong sugar and refined carbohydrate cravings

Sweating and fever

Skin breakouts

Hormonal imbalances

Fertility issues

How Can Natural Medicine Help With Candida Overgrowth?

Linda the Naturopath at Melbourne Naturopathy can provide a natural treatment for Candida overgrowth through the use of a variety of natural medicines, nutritional supplements and dietary changes. Treatment will depend on what parts of the body have been affected. She will provide an individualized treatment plan to treat the symptoms, address underlying causes and restore harmony and balance to the body.

Coeliac Disease & Gluten Sensitivity

Coeliac disease (CD) is an autoimmune disease triggered by an abnormal immune response to gluten. Gliadin, one of the two proteins which form gluten, has been found to be the toxic component in coeliac disease which initiates the immune activation. The inflammatory damage as a result primarily affects the small intestine. Systemic manifestations of coeliac disease include fatigue, weight loss, diarrhoea, anaemia, osteoporosis and depression.

Non-coeliac gluten sensitivity (NCGS) is a condition that is neither autoimmune nor allergic, yet leads to subjective symptoms similar to those seen in coeliac disease when gluten is consumed. The condition is characterised by negative antibodies (except, perhaps to gliadin) and normal intestinal mucosa. The cardinal sign is the clinical improvement of symptoms on a gluten-free diet in the absence of antibodies and intestinal mucosal abnormalities.

Wheat allergy is a less common condition than CD and NCGS. It is characterised by an IgE-mediated reaction to gliadins, particularly ω-5 gliadin. Unlike CD, patients with wheat allergy usually do not need to restrict other gluten-containing grains, such as rye, barley, and oats from their diet. The symptoms of wheat allergy are typical of those of an IgE-mediated reaction. Symptom onset after consumption is much more immediate than CD and NCGS, often occurring within minutes of consumption, with acute swelling of the face, skin, respiratory and gastrointestinal tract.

How Can Natural Medicine Help?

Linda Cotone, Naturopath at Melbourne Naturopathy will help to provide relief from Coeliac disease and gluten sensitivity through simple dietary changes. She will also use herbal medicine and nutritional supplements to help restore balance to the digestive system, and therefore treat the issues that have resulted from eating gluten.